The fundamental purpose of Opera Workshop is the study, appreciation, and performance of opera. This semester we will plan, rehearse, and perform an opera (to be announced) as part of the UCF Celebrates the Arts festival at the downtown Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Those performances will be on Saturday, April 4.

The class meets on Mondays from 3-5pm in room M150 and on Fridays from 3-5pm in the Rehearsal Hall. Not everyone will be called to every rehearsal – a detailed daily schedule will be posted as far in advance as possible through the "Announcements" feature in Webcourses. "Outside of class" rehearsals and performance dates/times are listed in the "Class Schedule" portion of the course syllabus as well.

The fundamental purpose of Opera Workshop is the study, appreciation, and performance of opera. This semester we will plan, rehearse, and perform an opera (to be announced) as part of the UCF Celebrates the Arts festival at the downtown Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Those performances will be on Saturday, April 4.

The class meets on Mondays from 3-5pm in room M150 and on Fridays from 3-5pm in the Rehearsal Hall. Not everyone will be called to every rehearsal – a detailed daily schedule will be posted as far in advance as possible through the "Announcements" feature in Webcourses. "Outside of class" rehearsals and performance dates/times are listed in the "Class Schedule" portion of the course syllabus as well.

This course, for Music BA, BME, and BM voice majors, consists of:

• a 50-minute one-on-one voice lesson each week, 
• a 50-minute "studio class" each Wednesday (at 11:30am), and 
• a 30-minute rehearsal/coaching with a pianist each week (this is at the expense of the student).

My goal in teaching you is to see that you are able to:

• more effectively and efficiently practice and improve upon your singing technique 
• more effectively and efficiently learn and memorize your music and texts  
• more effectively and efficiently perform your assigned classical vocal repertoire 
• more effectively and efficiently teach yourself (know how to improve on your own)

Expression and Technique!

Your most important goal, as a singer, must be to express a text, to tell a story and to evoke an emotional empathy or response from your audience. Healthy vocal technique is a crucial tool used to accomplish that goal – but it is only a tool - a tool that when properly used, allows you to freely express both music and text.

The concept of “bel canto style” singing is one that requires a great deal of flexibility of the singer. Not only should a voice move well and navigate florid passages (no matter the size of the instrument!), but I’m also referring to encouraging a flexibility of color in the sound – and this can only happen when one sings with clarity and ease. Real vowels – real emotions…

The study of vocal technique begins with the understanding that the vocal instrument can be divided into three critical parts:

1. Breath management: singers need to first understand the simple natural function of the breathing mechanism – only then can they learn to economically control the rate of exhalation – which is the real key to so-called “support”.
2. Resonance: is the other component we must master – both in terms of correct language articulation and of vocal tract filtering, which leads to register unification and an easy and efficient "projection" of our sound.
3. Phonation: On the other hand, phonation itself is something all singers must strive NOT to control – by getting out of the way of the natural phonation process of their own unique instrument. This third part seems simple, but it is often easier for us to learn to do something than to learn how NOT to interfere with nature.

Teaching classical voice requires a thorough knowledge of the vocal instrument and a basic understanding of the physics of sound (those very physical properties of sound allow a singer to be heard over a 100 piece orchestra in a 2,000+ seat theater without amplification), but without the study of musicianship and expression, vocalism can be boring and, in a manner of speaking, no longer music…

Musicianship!

Singers are not the creators – but rather the interpreters of music and text, and as such, you need to possess an unquenchable thirst to discover and uncover the composer's and author/poet/librettist's intent, and to develop the technical, linguistic, and musical skills to express that intent. Of course, you bring your own vocal quality, your personal experiences and paradigms and creative thinking to the music and text you perform.

My Job!

Having come to teaching after a substantial career on the operatic stage, it’s very important to me that you see the “big picture", that you understand some of the complexities of the profession, and that you "learn how to learn" (that you become a self-teacher and self-motivator). Although we think of voice study as principally technique (the "craft") and musicianship (the "art") - there are other aspects of preparation for the profession that must be addressed: professional behavior and responsibility, making good repertoire choices, and being passionate yet patient with both your vocal and career development, to name but a few.

The first order of business with a new student is to look with you at your current behavioral patterns and habits when you sing. So many young singers fall into the trap of imitating the sound of other singers – often singers who are older than they – I try to help you strip away tensions and habits that are not efficient – and to really find out what your instrument should sound like at your current age.

I love teaching at UCF – it’s an environment like no other – where, while being a part of a huge University, the music department is small enough to offer lots of personal attention to every student – at the same time, it’s a place where you will learn how to be more independent – a place where you truly prepare yourself for whatever the next steps in your path will be…